Ely and further north

After our relatively easy time in the last 4 days we need to start moving again.  We left Waterbeach at 9:20, descended Bottisham Lock, and cruised on up the Cam and then the Great Ouse for 13.5 miles finishing off yet again out in the wilds, some 3.5 miles north of Ely.  Very good sunny weather for the first time for over a week.

We are next to a railway line that follows the course of the river but are getting very little disturbance from it.   There is nothing to see apart from the river, the embankments, and the occasional passing boat,

A quiet day in Waterbeach

We havent moved today as we are in no particular hurry.  We have plenty of time to visit the places we want to visit and meet various committed dates during August.  This morning we walked the 2.5 mile round trip to Waterbeach.  It's an interesting "proper" village with many old houses, two pubs, a butchers, a couple of general stores,  a village green and a old church which was heavily though attractively  restored in Victorian times.  Soon after we returned to the boat there was a heavy rain shower justifying our decision to stay.

Goodbye Cambridge

A useful 48 hour stay in Cambridge as we were able to get our laundry done and stock up with groceries for the next 5-6 days during which facilities may be limited.  Both nights we ate out, on Monday at the Waterman pub a short walk from our mooring which served excellent well presented food and small brewery beer - well worth a visit.  On Tuesday we went to the Hakka Chinese Restaurant, again not far from the mooring, which provides a wide menu with particular emphasis on seafood.  Again an excellent freshly cooked meal,  some of the best chinese food we have eaten for a long time..

Densie moored near Waterbeach out in the fens

After buying our groceries this morning we set off soon after lunch.  First stop was to fill up with water and pump out the waste tank - another precaution against limited facilities.  Then back downstream mooring at Waterbeach near Bottisham Lock.  We are really out in the countryside here surrounded by the flat fens.

Return to Cambridge

Approaching Bottisham Lock where there is a weir, a sluice and a lock (L to R)

Yes, we are back in Cambridge moored in almost exactly the same place where we stopped 2.5 weeks ago.  We left Popes Corner at 9am and made fast progress of 3.5-4 mph despite a fairly strong head wind for much of the 4.5 hour journey.  There were a few spots of rain but nothing to makes us want to stop.

At the end of the Old West River and it's raining again

On the Old West River

Last night we planned most of the remainder of our stay in the fens.  The next step in our journey is a return to Cambridge for a few days to do the laundry and stock up again with groceries as the subsequent 2 weeks will give only limited opportunities for shopping. However the weather forecast for today was that heavy rain was to be expected by the end of the morning.  So our objective for today was to travel sufficiently far so that we could reach Cambridge tomorrow.

We set off at 8:45 in quite pleasant weather with light grey clouds and a light breeze and continued to make good progress like yesterday  The blanket weed which caused problems last time has disappeared again so we didn't need to stop to clear the prop.  By 10:30 we were passing the moorings at the Lazy Otter pub and the clouds were starting to turn a darker shade of grey. As those that seemed likely to cross our path in the immediate future were less threatening than the rest we decided to carry on to the junction with the Cam at Pope's Corner.  We arrived and moored up just as the rain was starting.  We estimate Cambridge is about 4-5 hours away so we are happy.   Well fairly happy given that the rain continues and the temperature is unseasonably cold.  We may even turn the central heating on for a while.

Back to Aldreth

Hemingford Grey Church overlooks the river

ST Ives bridge has a very rare medieval bridge chapel

After yesterday's early stop because of heavy rain and the other short journeys we have made recently we needed to travel some distance to fully charge the batteries.  We left at 9am and travelled quickly with the current and mainly with the wind passing through Hemingford Grey, St Ives and and the tidal section at Earith, where we saw the seal in the water, and back onto the Old West River.  Despite the recent heavy rain there was no obvious change in river levels.

Travelling with the current certainly helped our speed compared with a week or so ago.  The section below St Ives in particular was much more enjoyable as we easily doubled the speed.  Even the Old West River wasnt as bad as I painted it last time.

We moored up at 14:10 at Aldreth where we had moored last time.  In total a journey of 13 mile and 4 locks in about 5 hours - mission accomplished!

Wet wet wet

It's raining at Houghton - view through the boat window

Bad weather was forecast but the early morning was dry and we had things to do.  So we left at 8:30 but almost immediately the rain started, fortunately very light drizzle.  Within half an hour or so we had cruised downstream to Hartford Marina where the rain stopped and we pumped-out the boat and filled up with water.  We were on the move again an hour later.  The rain restarted and steadily got heavier.  We moored up at 10:40 at the first opportunity at the official moorings just below Houghton Lock and will stay here until the rain stops - forecast for tomorrow morning.